Customer experience and word of mouth is more important than ever in today’s economy. Word of mouth is the most effective mean of advertising. Build advocacy within your current customer base is the most cost-effective way to grow your business. The buying process has changed significantly in the past 10-15 years. Consumers now consult prior customers with almost every buying decision – looking at Google reviews, Amazon, and social feedback before hitting the “buy” button. Businesses must realize that every touchpoint is vital to their current and future business. The actual delivery of product to a customer’s door is now directly tied to their satisfaction with the item, if they will tell their friends and recommend your product, and of course. . . their review of your company. Logistics is part of the product. Having the right order fulfillment process is more important than ever before.
Customer Experience – Opening the Box
Your supply chain and logistics solutions should be able to not only deliver on time, but provide kitting and assembly, pick and pack, and do so with the highest customer service in mind for order fulfillment. Our expectations for delivery have changed with eCommerce. We now expect product within a week, sometimes within 2 days. Thanks to advancements, this is achievable, but vendors now need to understand that receiving the product on time with a good experience at delivery is the expectation and is directly tied to a customer’s satisfaction with the brand. Ensure that you have the right logistics partner or solution for the fulfillment side of your business, just as you would for the marketing and sales aspect of your business. Ensure that your supply chain and 3PL service partner provide the services needed to drive better retention rate and improve the delivery and “box opening” experience.
Lifetime Value and Repurchase Rate
Lifetime value is the revenue that each customer brings to your business over their lifetime. If you sell a product for $30, but your customers repurchase 4 times on average, your lifetime value is $150 per customer, which raises how much you can spend on customer acquisition. Your 3PL partner must work with you to deliver order fulfillment for direct sellers in a way that is caring, responsive, and they have attention to detail with any kitting and assembly. A customer knowing that they will get their product on time and actually look forward to receiving it is more likely to purchase, and purchase again.
Customer Advocacy and Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is still the most effective form of marketing, especially now with social media. People can quickly share their experience, not only of your product, but the entire experience. Now more than ever, customers relate the delivery of their product to the product itself. As a B2C direct seller, FBA, or FBM merchant, you must think through the delivery of the product and your logistics partner. The customer journey does not end with one purchase. Create customer advocacy be selecting a 3PL partner that can help improve your cost and timing throughout your supply chain as well as improve the customer experience.
We are here to help guide you during this process and can offer our expertise as you look for freight forwarding partners. If you have any questions, please contact us at contact@novexit.com. We can help you with your logistics needs and provide time and money savings today.
